1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a ceiling-mounted speaker assembly. In particular, the present invention relates to a mounting assembly that accomplishes the mounting quickly and easily without the need for special tools.
2. The Prior Art
Ceiling mounted speakers are common, in which the speakers are mounted to a ceiling panel and have the electrical components connected through wiring above the ceiling panel. Traditionally, the speakers are mounted by cutting a circular hole within which the speaker is attached. This mounting arrangement requires the labor of cutting the hole, and produces dust and debris.
An improvement over the prior methods has been proposed by U.S. Pat. No. 4,727,587 to Black. Black discloses an acoustical transducer mounting arrangement having two elongated posts extending up from the back of the speaker and electrically connected to the terminals of the speaker. The speaker is mounted by piercing the ceiling tile with the posts and securing the posts to the ceiling tile via removable clips. The clips establish an electrical connection between the power source and the speaker.
While this device has prevented the accumulation of dust, it does not mount securely does not have any means of polarity identification and is unreliable because of the numerous electrical contacts required to establish an electrical connection to the speaker.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a mounting assembly for a speaker that can be mounted to a ceiling tile without damaging the ceiling tile.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a mounting assembly that is easy to use and inexpensive to manufacture.
These and other objects of the invention are accomplished by a speaker assembly comprising a speaker housing having an external surface and an internal surface, and at least two threaded studs connected to the housing and extending away from the external surface of the housing. The studs are electrically connected to a speaker that is mounted within the housing. The studs have an unthreaded, pointed end that is particularly suitable for piercing a ceiling tile with little effort or mess. The tips of the studs are also particularly suited to accommodate wire nuts. This way, speaker wires can be connected to the stud tips via wire nuts that are screwed directly onto the stud tips. There are also at least two nuts for threading over the studs to secure the studs to a ceiling tile after the studs pierce the tile to attach the housing to the tile. The speaker is mounted to a ceiling tile by piercing the tile with the studs and securing the studs to the other side of the tile with the nuts. The speaker wires are then connected to the tips of the studs via the wire nuts.
The nuts attaching the studs to the ceiling tile are preferably wing nuts, and most preferably wide-bottom wing nuts. The use of a wide bottom wing nut and a threaded stud is an improvement over the prior art because using a threaded stud allows the speaker to be drawn up tightly against the mounting surface, which provides for better sound quality, appearance and security. The wing nuts secure the speaker to the ceiling tile better than the clips disclosed in the prior art. In the prior art, the tightness of the mounting between the speaker assembly and the ceiling tile is directly related to how strongly the clips can be pushed against the ceiling tile. In contrast, the present invention easily achieves a strong mount via the wing nuts. In addition, the wing nuts distribute the speaker mounting force over a wider area than the clips of the prior art, allowing tighter mounting of the speaker to the mounting surface, which improves sound quality and performance.
The speaker preferably has an O-ring mounted around an edge of the housing, so that pressing the housing against a ceiling tile causes the O-ring to create a tight seal between the housing and ceiling tile. This eliminates whistles and ensures a smooth sound.
To identify polarity, the studs are separately identifiable, for example, color coded: In one embodiment, one stud is nickel-plated and one stud is copper-plated. Alternatively, any other type of identifying method could be used, such as plating with other metals, making the studs different length, painted markers, etc. This is also an improvement over the prior devices, because since the speaker itself and its internal wiring are obstructed by the mounting surface once it is secured in place, it is difficult to be certain of the polarity of the speaker connection and therefore its phasing in the speaker system. Proper phasing of the speakers in a speaker system is important for sound quality.
The studs have an unthreaded tip to facilitate piercing of the ceiling tile and securing of the wire via the wire nut. The unthreaded tip makes piercing the ceiling tile very clean and easy. The tip is preferably textured to grip the wire nut more securely. Preferably, a knurled pattern is used to provide a more textured surface that aggressively engages the wire nut""s internal spiraled threads providing a more secure mechanical connection.
The present invention is an improvement over the prior devices in that it requires only a single connection between the speaker wires and the speaker apparatus. In the patent discussed above, three electrical connections are required to make a connection with the stud, since the clip requires a pig tail wire to connect to the speaker wires. One connection is from the amplifier lead-in wire to the clip""s pig tail wires, another is from the pig tail wire to the clip, and the third is from the clip itself to the speaker""s stud. This can lead to poor connections and breakage. With the present invention, the only connection is from the amplifier lead-in wires directly to the stud. This improves the audio system""s reliability and electrical integrity by reducing the number of electrical connections required for each speaker.